colorado. luckily, everyone walked away. but one amazing image caught our attention. this man. can you see his face? he's actually smiling from ear to ear, ecstatic to be pulled from the snow. who wouldn't be? here's how one skier described the avalanche. >> i could feel my mouth and my throat and when i finally woke up there was like a foot and a half to two feet of snow over my face. >> the avalanche was over 300 feet wide. a real whopper there. all right. now let's get a quick check of the markets with alison kosik. she's at the new york stock exchange. alison? >> hey, fredricka. the stocks hit a five-year high on tuesday. we have a minute to go before the "closing bell." the dow is down 52 points. bad news out of europe. the service sector is

contracting every bit of bad news in europe. that lines up with u.s. companieses that does business there. mixed economic news here at home m weekly unemployment claims came in higher than expected but the housing market, yeah, that remains a bright spot. existing home sales we found out today, they rose and home prices have been going up. that was good news. stocks were lower but they have bounced back up. >> that's a nice way to end the hour and the day with the markets and good news. a couple bits of good news. thank you so much, alison kosik. that's going to do it for me. "the situation room" with wolf blitzer starts right now. fred, thanks very much. happening now, a brazen shooting leads to a deadly chain reaction crash all within major sites of major casinos in las vegas. the major investigator in

the pistorius case has been thrown off the case. and a senator admits that he fathered a child with another one-time senator's daughter. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." all that coming up. we begin with today's new concerted effort to make president obama withdraw the nomination of chuck hagel to be the next defense secretary. 15 republican senators signed a letter arguing it would be, quote, unprecedented, unprecedented for a secretary of defense to take office without a broad base of bipartisan support. let's bring in dana bash. she's working this story for us. the critics of chuck hagel, and there are many, they are not giving up? >> they are not. and that's really what this is

about. this is about hagel's harshest critics to say that they are not happy. it's a big deal. they are saying, mr. president, please withdraw it. if you look at these faces, they are the most conservative members of the senate so it isn't surprising that they would be this aggressive on what has really become a partisan issue and they know what that what has happened in this recess -- the senate is in recession -- is that some of their fellow republicans have come out and said, we will allow this to go forward. so they know it's not technically going to be possible for them to stop it but the votes, they thought maybe if there was a bombshell that came out during this time, that would help. they were digging for it. that didn't happen. what is interesting, we are going to see a very partisan vote and that is very different from what we have seen in the past most recent defense secretary votes. take a look at this. leon pa net tark the current defense secretary, 100 to zero.

unanimous. robert gates, not much different. 95-2. and donald rumsfeld who end ended up being controversial but didn't go in that way, he was confirmed by voice vote. that shows you how unusual this is and that does make these senators' points. >> they were always confirmed with bipartisan lopsided votes. so this would be highly unusual. and i've got to tell you, based on my own reporting, what i'm hearing from some democrats, some within the defense department, some grumbling going on, they are wondering, is this the smartest thing, is he the most effective secretary of defense right now to go forward and do what the country needs, given that he's been so politically tainted that almost all of the republicans will vote against him. >> there is some concern about that. there's no question about that. there is private grumbling among democrats -- look, it wasn't a big surprise that this was going

to be controversial. the president made a tactical and strategic decision knowing that this would happen. he knew it beforehand. but the fact that he did not do so well in his confirmation, that didn't help him. it hurt him. and it made some democrats a little more than wince. and that is the point of the republicans, even though they are very partisan on this issue, the point of the letter, it would be difficult for him to do his job if and when he is confirmed because it is so partisan and he's so bruised. >> they vote next week, right? >> yes. tuesday. >> dana, thanks very much. in las vegas, they are still talking about this morning's brazen shooting that led to a fiery multivehicle crash. it all went down on the vegas strip. all three people are dead and as far as we know, whoever is responsible got away. let's go to cnn marquez. this is obviously a source of

great concern. >> reporter: it is unbelievable. we are on flamingo road right now, wolf. the entire strip is completely cut off at the moment. something that vegas, a town that doesn't shock very easily, has ever seen. >> horrific nature, the fiery end to this horrible accident. >> reporter: a shocking shootout on the vegas strip in a city not easily shocked. it started at 4:30 a.m. someone in a black range rover with dealer plates fired into this maz rat tea killing the driving causing it to go out of control. it continued through an intersection and smashed into this car. hard to tell, but that is a taxi cab. it burst into flame. the driver and passenger trapped inside died. >> it's possible that the cab may have been running on propane. they are investigating the engineering and mechanicals of that vehicle.

>> reporter: still on the loose, the black range rover with dealer plates. a common vehicle here. police warning that the occupants are armed and dangerous. >> very dark, tinted windows and occupied multiple times by black males. >> reporter: now, we expect that las vegas police will be holding a press conference shortly, in about an hour, about 5:00 p.m. eastern time, wolf. we're going to try to bring that to you live. we hope to learn more details about how this thing played out. we do know that police have requested video from all of the major hotels on this part of the strip. so they are hoping that that leads to more clues and they can track down that black suv and it is occupants. wolf? >> we know there are a lot of cameras in las vegas. miguel, thanks very, very much. we turn to yet another unexpected and bizarre twist in the murder case against oscar pistorius. he's accused of deliberately killing his girlfriend a week

ago. today the lead detectives was actually removed from the case after it came out he's facing attempted murder charges. cnn's robyn curnow is joining us from south africa. how did it go? >> reporter: hi there. very different today in terms of oscar pistorius' demeanor. i know we've had a chat over the week and a few days ago he was slumped over, he was crying, he was uncontrollable, he was emotional. today, wolf, the complete opposite. he barely moved. i sat in that courtroom the whole day. i of course watched him quite closely. once or twice he kind of sobbed quietly to himself but he was like a statue. he was frozen. he was immobile. maybe this is a guy that suddenly realizes he has the weight of the world on his shoulders, perhaps the severity is sinking in. i don't know. it was very obvious that there's

been a shift in the way that he's dealing with this. >> robyn, if you take a look at what's going on right now, and obviously we're all watching it closely, not only in south africa but indeed around the world, especially here in the united states, it seems like the prosecution, they've made so many blunders, including now this lead prosecutor. update us what is going on in that front because a lot of mistakes clearly were made. >> reporter: absolutely. and i think there's a lot of egg on the face of the south african police. you know, it does appear to have been very sloppy, inept police work right from the beginning. we talked about how the lead detective walked through the house without any foot covers, poe he tensionally contaminating the scene. this is the very same man we hear has charges of attempted murder up against him and what is also interesting, the police

commissioner admits that they knew that this policeman was facing attempted murder charges. so there does appear to be this sort of crazy scenario of blunder and blunder and blunder but i just want to remind you, this is what happens in south africa every day. sloppy police work and inefficient justice system. 50 people are murdered in south africa every day and they don't get the benefit of the police commissioner saying, hey, you guys aren't doing a good enough job, i'm going to put the top detect tif in as they did today. all in all, this is an indication of just how shoddy the police system has become. >> and tomorrow, more testimony, more hearings. will we know as early as potentially tomorrow whether he will be out on prison, out on bail, or whether he will suffer in prison as this process goes forward? >> reporter: you know, i think we will know tomorrow. i got a sense from sources inside the prosecution team that

they really understand that things need to be wrapped up. i think the magistrate knows that things need to be wrapped up. i still can't judge which way it's going to go. legal experts say he probably will get bail. others say it's a strong case against him. because despite some of the shoddy police work, the state's prosecution team today really tore into oscar pistorius' version of events, his affidavit. there are key inconsistencies within his version of events, with forensics and what they say they will exploit as the trial goes on to the end of the year and perhaps early next year. when this trial does come into the high court, i think it's going to be quite a spectacular piece of clashing between these two legal teams. >> it would though -- very quickly, robyn, be highly unusual for someone charged with premeditated murder to be eligible to be out on bail as the process goes forward. that sounds pretty

extraordinary. >> reporter: i think what is going to happen -- if you remember, the magistrate said he was open to the fact that it was premeditated murder. and i think what we understand has been happening in the courtroom is that they will probably downgrade that charge to just murder and that's what's easier, of course, to get bail. what i understand, this has actually all been a rather shrewd trick by the state's prosecution. they actually upped this murder charge to premeditation because it forced oscar pistorius' legal team to show their cause. he had to. and to those conditions present an affidavit. so we now have oscar's version of events much sooner than his legal team would have liked. so i think this might have just been a ploy in the end. they know that he really only perhaps fits the conditions for a murder charge. by upping it to premeditated murder, they've managed to get his version of events which they can now work on for the next six to eight months and try to breakdown. >> we'll see what happens

tomorrow. robyn curnow, we really appreciate it. you can learn a lot more about the victim, reeva steenkamp's best friend is among tonight's guest on erin burnett's "outfront" at 7:00 p.m. eastern after "the situation room." right now there are people in a major winter storm. 20% of the population will feel some effects. emergencies have been declared across kansas and missouri and a number of major cities could see record-breaking snow and ice. let's get the very latest on the storm from cnn meteorologist karen maginnis. >> kansas, nebraska, and portions of arkansas, missouri have seen snow, sleet, and ice. on top of that we're looking at fairly gusty winds.

big thunderstorms now erupting across the southeast and the gulf coast states. there is a tornado watch that goes until 7:00 p.m. local time and several perishes where they have tornado warnings. very interesting weather system meet logically speaking with the snow, the sleet, the freezing rain and eruption of the big storms across the southeast. it has impacted a number of the airports but right across this region into southern missouri and north central areas of arkansas, they have seen ice and i've seen pictures posted on twitter and instagram where they have seen as much as four inches of sleet and ice being reported there. well, what happens with this system? we're going to move along in time and over the next 24 to 36 hours, the storm is system actually is going to weaken just a bit. but if you're going to chicago, they are forecasting about seven inches of snow. that's a little bit more than what we were looking at but right now temperatures across the central u.s., mostly into

the teens and 20s. if you were to look at the temperatures in louisiana, they are in the 60s and 70s. a sharp temperature contrast with this area of low pressure moving across the central mississippi valley as we go into this evening and then going through time for friday, into the tennessee valley, ohio river valley. and this is where the storm really starts to ring out. but across the southeast, some of these areas in georgia, south carolina, north central florida could see between 4 and 8 inches of rainfall. we'll keep you updated on that. wolf? >> karen, thanks very, very much. new questions about how one of the most prominent catholic leaders in the united states handled the problem of pedophile priests. i've discovered gold.

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the nation's most prominent roman catholic leader was questioned by lawyers for victims who were sexually abused by priests in milwaukee. this occurred because he was the archbishop when the incidents came to light. while dolan says he is eager to cooperate, questions remain about the hard line the arch dire cease took to protect its money during his leadership. cnn's ted rowlands has details. >> truth. it is a fundamental ingredient for human life. >> reporter: during a weekday morning mass in wisconsin, father jim con nel uses part of his sermon to discuss the catholic clergy sex abuse scandal. >> what actually happened? who knew what? when did they knew it?

what did they do with the information? >> reporter: he was archdiocese of milwaukee until mandatory retirement kicked in last year. given his rank in the church, he is an unlikely public critic of how his archdiocese has handled the ongoing sex abuse scandal and battled victims over compensation. >> there's a secrecy at that top level and i would say starting with the holy father. the pope benedict xvi would tell the cardinals and bishops, talk, open up, let it all be known. >> reporter: he agrees with victims here in milwaukee that the archdiocese has taken an especially hard line to keep abuse secrets hidden and to protect its money. representing hundreds of clergy abuse victims from around the country. >> the archdiocese of milwaukee has been particularly deceitful because they've been insulated for so long.

they felt and believed they could get away with it. >> reporter: for decades, wisconsin's state law prevented most victims of sexual abuse from filing lawsuits which protected the church. when that changed, critics say the archdiocese prepared for upcoming lawsuits by moving its money. church financial records show $55 million buried here, in a cemetery trust fund. the church says the money was paid by people who bought burial plots at eight archdiocese cemeteries. a law professor says that if any money was moved to protect the abuse victims, the diocese may have broken the law. >> you can't, in anticipation of insolvency, transfer assets away from yourself for your own benefit. >> reporter: abuse victims cried

foul about the cemetery fund and also other transfers, including a $74 million parish deposit line. they point to these minutes from a financial council meeting about abuse cases that reads, we are working on a plan to shelter the parish deposit fund. in december, a bankruptcy judge said that the transfers were fishy but legal. father con nel says the archdiocese should have been more open about the transfer. >> the motivation for not moving the money, i'm not sure. but it -- it needs explanation, right back to our same word, why we are doing this. the cemeteries we talked about with moving money out of the -- that ought to have been explainable. >> reporter: who could explain? nye york cardinal timothy dolan, now arguably the most powerful catholic in the u.s. he was archbishop of milwaukee when the cemetery trust fund was

established and when the $74 million parish fund was moved. >> archbishop dolan made a decision to secretly and in a quite sinister way move funds into parishes and transfer funds into other corporations to avoid having to pay the survivors. >> reporter: ridiculous, says the cardinal. this was his response in february 2011 when the allegations of sheltering the money first surfaced. >> to think that there was $130 million in hidden funds, like dolan's got some offshore account in the cayman islands or something? this is just ludicrous. >> reporter: he declined an interview with cnn and the toirn representing the cemetery trust fund says the obligation to maintain the cemeteries never ends. no one knows for sure how much

is enough. an ultimate win for the victims could open up not only the 55 million in the cemetery trust but future cemetery earnings. a win for the church could provide a blueprint for other diocese going through bankruptcy and could propel dolan's into the vatican as the diocese of the catholic church. meanwhile, the disease is spending millions in legal fees to protect its money and reputation which father connell believes needs to stop. >> it's the love of money that translates into greed that is the root of all evils and that's what i see playing out in this situation. what's under the lid? what is being hidden? how embarrassing can it be? >> reporter: for now the position of the church is pitting potential obligations to living abuse victims against the care of the dead. ted rowlands, cnn, milwaukee. >> cardinal dolan will be among

those who will choose a new pope to replace pope benedict xvi although he himself has been mentioned a candidate a. british book maker lists dolan a 33 to 1 long shot. good reporting from ted rowlands. a former u.s. senator make as stunning admission. we're going to tell you the 30-year-old secret that new mexico's ex-senator pete has revealed. and billboards has changed the way and the surprising number one hit. transit fares! as in the 37 billion transit fares we help collect each year. no? oh, right. you're thinking of the 1.6 million daily customer care interactions xerox handles. or the 900 million health insurance claims we process. so, it's no surprise to you that companies depend on today's xerox for services that simplify how work gets done. which is...pretty much what we've always stood for. with xerox, you're ready for real business.

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a deadly pair of explosions today in india. kate bolduan is here monitoring

some of the other stories in "the situation room." what happened? >> more than a dozen people were killed and more than 50 others injured in two bombings in southern india. the city's police commissioner says explosives were planted on bicycles parked in a crowded spot. he isn't ruling out that terrorists were responsible for the blasts but refused to identify any group as a suspect as of now. a 34-year-old navy s.e.a.l. is missing after getting separated from his unit off the coast of hawaii. the navy and coast guard and honolulu fire department are assisting in the search effort. they are notify fiing the family about his disappearance. evidence that the housing market is rebounding. the national association of realtors says that home sales remained strong last month and prices had the largest gains since 2005. last month builders filed for the largest number of building permits in four years. what started out as a viral

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the economy comes to life. norfolk southern. one line, infinite possibilities. one of america's biggest cities is facing a financial crisis right now. it may go bankrupt. detroit used to be america's fifth largest city. that was back in 1960. it's now slipped to 18th having lost half of its population. this afternoon, michigan's governor told reporter he's putting off a decision on whether to put a special manager in charge of the city's finances and in a break from the kind of politics we often see here in washington, the governor went out of his way to avoid the blame game. >> we shouldn't be spending any time on the blame question. this isn't about the last year. this isn't about what's going on since mayor bing.

this is an issue that's struck urly been there for decades. and if you look at what it behind all this, it's this, the decline in population. >> a huge decline in population. let's discuss what is going on. detroit's mayor is joining us. mayor bing, thanks for coming in. >> thank you, wolf. my pleasure. >> do you agree that the key to the economic problems has been the depleting population? >> yeah. i mean, that's one of the issues, no doubt about it, because your revenue from taxes is based on your population and we've lost over half of our population in the last 20 years or so. and until we can get stable and then start growing again, it's going to be a very, very difficult situation here. >> it's hard to believe the city has gone -- the actual city of detroit has gone from 1.4 million to 700,000.

so why is detroit now poe technically on the verge of bankruptcy? >> a big reason. there are a lot of different reasons. i don't think the city was managed very well by its leadership, number one. number two, there was a huge loss of population. so therefore, a huge loss of revenue from a taxing standpoint. i think the other thing is the state. the state has not been as good to detroit as they should have been. we lose revenue based on population loss. most of it involves around revenue and, you know, we can't cut our way back out of this problem. i think we've cut as much as we can cut. we've got to think about how we can raise revenue again. >> so how do you get out of this problem? what's your plan? >> well, i think the governor has a plan. i've had two or three different plans that i've shared with the state. they've never told me that they

didn't like our plan. so on a going forward basis, to fix the city, i think we're going to use a plan that i have in place. but the governor now is -- has to make a decision whether an emergency manage ser going to come into the city and take the opportunity to run the finances of the city. so we're waiting for the governor to make that choice and once he makes that choice, then we'll figure out what our next steps are going to be. >> some other big cities not far from you have gone through similar problems in the decades. pittsburgh, the steel industry, can cleveland. but they seem to be doing so much better right now. they've got new industries, they've got new talent that have come in there. detroit -- we know the automobile industry has suffered but it's come back dramatically. look at this commercial that chrysler put out at last year's super bowl. >> what does a town that's been to hell and back know about the finer things in life?

well, i'll tell you. more than most. you see, it's the hottest fires that make the hardest steel. add hard work and conviction and a know-how that runs generations deep to every last one of us. that's who we are. that's our story. >> we see the automobile gm, chrysler, ford, they are doing well right now. so why isn't detroit doing well? >> well, you know, none of those plants are in the city of detroit. at one time, 20, 30 years ago, detroit had a lot of the automotive oem plants in the city of detroit. but as the industry started to shrink, they shut down the plants in detroit and a lot of the revenue that we were getting from a taxing standpoint or even people paying taxes is no longer

here. i do believe detroit is going to come back but we are not going to be the same city that we were 30 years ago. it's going to be a smaller city based on population and we can't be as dependent on one industry as we were for the last 40 or 50 years. we've got to diversify and we are doing that. the health care industry is growing at a double-digit rate in the last five years. they are projected to continue that growth for another five years. you'd be surprised that just from the theater district -- outside of new york city, we have the most theater seats in any other city other than new york. so we're looking to try to grow that area. so those are things that are starting to happen and we've just got to be a little patient but at the same time, we can't continue to go down the same road as we are. >> it's the home of motown so there's a lot of history there. what are the chances that you will file for bankruptcy?

>> i think they are very slim because, once again, it will really -- when we've got aaa ratings from three -- our state has got a high rating. i think it's probably bb plus. we've got two of the surrounding counties that are aaa. and if in fact detroit were to file for bankruptcy, it would have a negative impact on the counties surrounding us as well as the state. so i don't think anybody want to go in that direction. >> mayor, good luck to you. good luck to all of the folks in detroit. we hope you guys come back. >> thank you so very much. we appreciate the support. >> dave bing is the mayor of detroit. a former senator makes a startling revelation. he was long known as a family man but he's just revealing a major secret he's kept for three decades. that's coming up. stay with us. you're in "the situation room." all waking up. connecting to the global phenomenon we call the internet of everything.

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a 30-year-old secret is now out t involves one former u.s. senator and the daughter of another. cnn's brian todd is coming into "the situation room." he's got the details of what happened. what's this all about? >> wolf, this is something you might find in a hollywood version of a washington political drama. two families, iconic in the senate, royalty in the republican party. and infidelity long ago between two members of those families produces a child out of wedlock t is a deep secret for decades and because someone apparently about to go public with it all know, it blows up. he was an immensely powerful and influential senator, a republican icon who voted to impeach president clinton over the lewinsky scandal.

>> mr. domenici, guilty. >> he says truthfulness is the first pillar of a good character. >> i think there's an element of hypocrisy, no question. >> reporter: matt cooper says that now because we're finding out while domenici was blasting bill clinton, he was hiding from everyone, including his own family, that he fathered a child out of wedlock several years early and with the daughter of another republican legend, former republican senator paul laxalt. pete domenici has said that he's aware of this for several months. my past action has caused hurt and disappointment to my wife, children, family, and others. i deeply regret this and am very sorry for my behavior. >> what do you make about the revelation and the timing so many years later? >> it seems like someone forced their hands. someone was going to write about

it. so they thought they would come out and be forthright about it. >> indeed, michelle laxalt says, recently information has come to me that this sacred situation might be twisted, rewritten out of whole cloth and shopped to press outlets large and small in a vicious attempt to smear, hurt, and diminish pete domenici. they sent the statements to the al kwer key journal newspaper. it's not clear if the journal would have taken the information public. the journal john robertson wrote an article on it but declined an interview with cnn. six years ago, when their connection was largely secret, michelle laxalt appeared on "larry king live" defending pete domenici. he had been involved in a scan can dal over firing u.s. attorneys. >> he's a totally honorable man. when you're attacking the integrity of a man who's been in public service for his entire

lifetime, great sacrifice, supporting no fewer than eight children and with the many sacrifices and the many contributions senator domenici has made to the country and to the state of new connection mexico. >> now michelle call it is one night's mistake. domenici retired from the state in 2009. he declined an interview with cnn. their son, adam laxalt, e-mailed us today. he said, i have lived my entire life as a private citizen and intend to remain one. i plan to address personal issues privately and will not be commenting or joining any public discussion, wolf. >> did he know that senator domenici was his father? >> i e-mailed him back asking him that question. they say in their statements that they did not want to reveal their parenthood of adam laxalt. michelle laxalt said that she chose to raise him as a single parent and only asking that

domenici avail himself for health-related purposes. it is not clear at all whether she let him know that pete domenici was the father. >> brian todd, thanks very much for that report. syria's bloody war made its way into the heart of the capital today. coming up, details of a car bomb that wounded at least 200 people and killed 53. ♪ (train horn) vo: wherever our trains go, the economy comes to life. norfolk southern. one line, infinite possibilities. whoa! you really feel all 335 foot-pounds of torque. it's chevy truck month! silverado was also recognized for the lowest cost of ownership. hey, what are you gonna do with it?

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a day of terrible atrocities in syria's civil war. at least three car bombs went off. cnn's international correspondent ivan watson reports. >> reporter: in the heart of the

syrian capital on thursday, syrian state media is reporting at least 53 people killed by this enormous blast and more than 200 wounded. and if you look at the video, the images have that have been posted online and broadcast on state television, you can see the devastating impact where cars were hurled across streets and surrounding buildings. seriously damaged. the blast took place, we're told, within about 20 yards of one of the main headquarters of the ruling bath party in damascus, in syria. of course, there were also several schools in the immediate vicinity as well. and we're hearing reports that children are among the casualties and that the schools called out for parents to come and pick up their kids for safety to bring them home. syrian's state media was reporting interviews with some of the survivors and bystanders and they all uniformly condemned syrian rebel factions, accusing

them of the attack. >> translator: this is terrorism. this is murder. this cannot be endorsed of islam. may god curse them. they come and kill our women and children and then claim that it is in the name of islam. what kind of islam are they talking about? >> reporter: now wolf, as of thursday evening there have still been no claims of responsibility, not even from one hard line islam mist group called the musruf front. meanwhile, another group that calls itself the syrian national coalition published a statement that it strongly condemns without any reservation the bombings that justify the fall of innocent civilians or those premeditated and planned targeted attacks on civilians. wolf, the battle for damascus is still far from over. within minutes of this major car barack obamaing, there were

reports of it taking place in other parts of damascus and sadly we're going to see many more civilian casualties before the fate of this ancient city is decided. wolf? >> ivan watson reporting for us. i'm joined by fareed zakaria. on syria, fareed, do you think the president is reconsidering his opposition to arming those rebels? >> i doubt it very much, wolf. ivan's report actually highlights just the difficulty of getting involved. remember, it appears to be that this might have been the work of one of the rebel factions. so would the united states arm those rebel factions engaging in this kind of terrorism? would they find cleaner ones? how do you control the factions

that you are arming? this is the situations that have stayed obama from arming them. we see there is a free for all. we know that there are many forces against the government but they do appear to be some supporting the government. in the middle of that, to inject american military man ohpower, even just advisers, training, or arms is to get the united states involved in something that looks like it could get a lot messier no matter what. >> a lot of administration officials have said to me, justified the president's refusal to arm those rebels. you arm some of them, you don't know where those arms, those weapons are going to wind up. they are going to wind up in the hands of a terrorist organization. you've got to be careful. that's one of the main reasons that president obama rejected that. michael lawrence said something intriguing this week, quoting the prime minister of benjamin

netanyahu that israel believes that iran will breach the red line of nuclear progress by early in the summer. they will have enough new sent trifujs to really be on the verge of developing a nuclear bomb. what do you make of this early summer red line? >> i think it's fascinating, wolf. i'm glad you picked up on it. because there is no magic moment here. the iranians are moving in an incremental fashion. it's not clear what that red line is. it means they will have enough enriched uranium to potentially convert it into fuel rods and such the the really interesting question is why are the israelis publicly putting this out there? my questions is that the prime minister netanyahu has little room to maneuver. he's had to make a deal with people in power who are not in

favor of an israeli strike. that means his only hope is to have the americans do the work for him. so he's putting out a red line there which could force president obama's hand and could force him into action. i don't know if it will work but i am as intrigued as you are, why would the israeli ambassador set this up in a way that by early summer the u.s. administration has to act or seem to be countenancing the iranians crossing a red line. >> on march 20th, assuming the trip goes off, they will have a lot to discuss. fareed, thanks very much. coming up a new outrage at airport checkpoints. airport checkpoints. id caght? maybe. you know why i pulled you over today? because i'm a pig driving a convertible?

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it's so important to make meone happy.♪ ♪make just one someone happy ♪and you will be happy too. then you're going to love this. right now they're only $14.95! wow-a grt deal just got a whole lot better. hurry. $14.95 won't last. the transportation security administration is apologizing to a 3-year-old little girl. rene marsh has the story. >> reporter: lucy has spine na bif da and is wheelchair bound. tsa agents at the airport took away her stuffed animal and pulled aside the 3-year-old saying she needed a pat-down. the child's mom videotaped part

of the since dent. it was her first time flying. the family was headed to disney world. her dad said he didn't know the rules but patting down a 3-year-old just felt unreasonable. >> if it's to the point where it's acceptable to pat down 3-year-old girls in a wheelchair just so everybody feels a little better, i don't personally believe that's worth it. >> reporter: tsa says any child 12 and under should not be patted down. it's a last resort. the tsa regrets inaccurate guidance was provided to this family during screening and offers its apology. >> i don't want strangers to lay their hands on my child. that's not going to happen unless there's a really good reason. >> after 30 minutes, supervisors allowed him to carry his daughter through security without a pat-down. once they did get on the plane, things got better. >> we had a great time at disney

world. in contrast to the tsa, it seemed like everybody at disney went out of their way to make lucy feel like she was very special. >> wolf, forks says that the one thing he would say to the agent who tried to subject his crying daughter to a pat-down is, know the rules of the tsa. wolf? >> rene, thanks very much. and you're in "the situation room." happening now, with the federal government facing massive spending cuts, workers can expect less pay, even some layoffs. but will the lawmakers who voted for these cuts watch their own salaries shrink. and looking at a medical bill is enough to make you sick. we're going to he can pose some of the shocking secrets behind sky-high health care costs. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room."

>> with no deal in sight, beginning eight days from now, workers are getting ready for the worst pay cuts, layoffs, furloughs, and a lot more. but will that misery be shared at all by congress? our chief congressional correspondent dana bash is working the story for us. what's the answer? >> the legislative brampbl would see a 9% cut. it includes congressional staff, capitol police, capitol physicians. pretty much everybody except for the people who wrote the law that put this doomsday scenario into effect. pain from forced spending cuts

is a week away and lawmakers are preparing for the fallout. >> we've actually budgeted with a 10% cut in mind. >> we reorganized our office last december. we had to let people go then because we were anticipating at least a 16% cut. >> reporter: but get this, members of congress, the very people who voted to put these cuts in place, won't see any change to their own $174,000 a year paychecks. they are exempt. they didn't include their salaries in these spending cuts. so before lawmaker left town for a week-long recess without doing anything to head off the coming cuts -- >> congressman, dana bash with cnn. >> we took an informal survey. >> we are all in this together and we are all suffering together. >> most lawmakers in both parties said yes. >> would you take a pay cut? >> absolutely. let's make sure that we're doing our part as well. >> but cutting lawmakers' pay

now is not so easy. the 27th amendment to the constitution prohibits members of congress from changing their pay until after the next election, though they can't k get creative, write checks to charity or the treasury. ironically, some tea party-backed lawmakers are reluctant to give up their own pay. >> do you think members of congress should take a pay cut? >> no. i think they should raise our pay. >> republican billy long was elected in 2010 to cut washington spending. >> it's a minuscule part. i don't think it will have an effect. >> will you, as a member of congress, take a cut michelle back man talked only about her staff, not her. >> we'd like to keep everybody on the payroll if we have but they will have to work fewer hours. so we're looking at reduction in our staff and that's what we need to do. ironically, one of the biggest opponents of congress cutting its pay is one of the wealthiest.

nancy pelosi says she knows others are not so fortunate. >> most of my colleagues, the bread winners in their families, a pay cut to me doesn't mean as much. >> beyond lawmakers' own salaries, some are going out of their way to show that they are saving uncle sam money in other ways. senator rand paul, for example, of kentucky announced that he's returning $600,000 of his office's operating budget to the federal treasury. he did $500,000 last year. he's doing this by cutting on paper clips to ink to following the philosophy of the tea party. he said it's possible. that's a separate issue, of course, from his own pay. >> if he wants to make a contribution out of his own salary, you can get the same salary but if he wants to make a contribution to the u.s. treasury, nothing is stopping him or anyone else? >> you're exactly right.

the tricky thing is whether or not -- that's what they can do. it's hard for them at this point because they didn't, as i said -- they are exempt from last year. it's very hard for them to technically change that but they can make symbolic moves. >> right. take out the paycheck, write u.s. treasury -- >> and write a press release. >> dana, thanks very much. a steady drumbeat about the forced spending cuts that are looming. why do we keep lurching from crisis to crisis. happening now, a vote of confidence in the president's controversial tax cut deal with republicans. >> so yes you're going to run into trouble in the house. >> it's been a day of dramatic changes in washington's debt crisis. >> so much silence at lockdown that there is now a conversation going on between this building and capitol hill. >> the key thing here to watch, wolf, is that nancy pelosi is the house has got to deliver an awful lot of democrats. how many republicans will john

boehner be able to deliver? >> we now know the united states will in fact go over the fiscal can cliff at midnight tonight. >> it's almost like whack a mole. as soon as they get one thing done, another one pops up. >> gloria borger is here. >> it's groundhog day and you're in it and i'm in it and you're in it. we're going through it all over again. so let's do a little -- we're going to take a little trip down memory lane, okay? december 2010, wolf, we showed that in that clip. that was one month after republicans took control of the house. you remember when the tea party was so popular? congress came back for a lame duck session because the government was running out of money and the bush tax cuts were expiring. so what did they do? they extended some of those tax cuts, extended them all and guess what they di they kicked the can down the road. that will be a theme of our

discussion, wolf, kicking the can down the road. so that brings us to summer -- >> the summer of 2011 and that debt ceiling crisis. >> that long, hot summer. remember that fight? there was a grand bargain, you'll recall, and then there wasn't a grand bargain. the speaker and the president thought they could agree to something. that fell through. finger pointing on both sides went down to the wire. the credit rating was downgraded and finally there was a deal to set up another deadline and, of course, kick the can down the road, which, again, they did. >> new year's eve, most recently, we were all waiting for that fiscal cliff. we were working really hard to make sure we didn't go over the fiscal cliff. we went over but just by a day or so. >> by the way, this was a manmade fiscal cliff. >> right. >> and this was supposed to be the moment when you would finally get the real deal to finally reduce the deficit in a substantial way.

what did they do? they did raise taxes on the wealthy but, as the president had promised during the campaign, but they put off the budget cutting again until now where we're facing this march 1 deadline. so the american people kind of feel like we've been through this. we're tired of this. we're not sure we believe that this is a real crisis and, by the way, the american public believes that they are going to find another way to kick the can down the road. >> there is some good news, though, gloria, and it happened today and i was very pleased to hear that the president of the united states picked up the phone, called the house speaker, john boehner, he called the republican leader in the senate, mitch mcconnell. they had good conversations, we are told. i don't know if anything was achieved. but 24 hours ago when dan pfeiffer, the white house senior adviser was here, i said to him, why doesn't the president at

least pink up the phone and call these guys, get together the way tip o'neil used to do, the way ron neld reagan used to do and work out a deal? >> and the answer to that is serve still jockeying. the president and folks that i've talked to at the white house are very concerned about the potential impact this could have on the economy. if you go over this deadline and these furloughs really start taking effect, don't forget, it's not as if on march 1 everything kicks in. it's going to be gradual. but at some point somebody is going to lose this fight and it could well be the american people. so the president did pick up the phone. the question is whether it's going to have any real impact. >> i hope it it does. >> i hope they will go over to the white house and get involved in real negotiations. >> but here's the problem.

republicans say no way. we need a 50/50 deal. >> we'll see what happens. >> the vice president joe biden today made another strong pitch for action on gun violence. he told public officials they need to worry more about the survival of children and not their own political careers. let's bring in our crime and justice correspondent joe johns. >> the vice president said there's a moral price to be paid on the issue of inaction on gun control. he tried to put pressure on politicians who might think twice for voting against measures that fight gun violence. vice president biden appearing in connecticut on thursday, not far from the scene of the newtown school shooting, which many see as a political turning point in the national debate over guns. >> an assumption in american

politics today is that this is kind of a third rail of politics, that if you take this on, somehow there will be a severe political price to pay for doing it. people say and you read and people right about the political risk and why the unacceptable take on. i say it's unacceptable not to take these on. >> though the december 14th massacre is still fresh in the memory, how congress will respond to newtown is an open question. the best guess is that expanded background checks for guns has a passage. in an interview with john king at harvard university issued a warning for congress. >> will the nra target punish, seek to punish members of congress who decide to change their position or decide to vote yes on these issues? >> it depends on where this finally coming out but the answer is yes. >> the vice president and his

supporters say that the public is on the side of gun control and the nra doesn't have power to pull strings on capitol hill like it used to. >> if they are afraid of the gun lobby, they shouldn't be. >> to counter the administration's gun control push, the nra ran newspaper ads in five key states where democratic senators are expected to face tough re-election fights. it's too early to say the nra has lost its clout on capitol hill. >> gun owners who support the nra had been steeled in their resolve because of the administration's proposals. look, the bottom line is the president will get some of what he want but not all of what he wants and at the end of the day the nra will have to live with all of that. >> the president's political action committee organizing for america says it's launching for a new push to rally hill support

for 100 gun events in 80 congressional districts. the battle is being joined. >> it is a battle indeed. joe, thanks. as walmart goes, so does a worried america. what is causing slowing sales at walmart. and the death of a russian boy may have serious repercussions for more than 100,000 orphans. ♪

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[car alarm blaring] call now and also ask about our 24/7 support and service. call... and lock in your rate for 12 months today. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? walmart announced that it is taking a hit in sales in recent weeks. and ali velshi is joining us from new york. why are walmart's numbers right now declining? they are not so good. >> walmart because of the number of people who shop at walmart, we get a real read on what people are doing.

obviously walmart is a value operation. you're dealing with a lot of people looking to stretch their dollar a little further and they are getting hit by three things. one is, at the end of the year, at the end of last year when we had the fiscal cliff, payroll taxes went up. there had been a discount on payroll taxes. so everybody who earns a wage let's a little bit less money. number two, tax refund are delayed because the tax departments couldn't get things worked out. number three, gasoline prices have been going up steadily so the combination of those three things is cutting into disposable income. you are still making designifican designificadecisions to cut back a little bit. >> why is walmart such an important barometer? >> when we get employment numbers and things like that,

it's an extrapolation. with mall mart, you are talking about a 200 million purchasers, customers worldwide a week, about 64% of their sales worldwide come from the united states. so more people go through a walmart than do pretty much anything else in america on a weekly or monthly basis. also, walmart has sam's club, like costco, a wholesaler where you buy in bigger lots. 47 million members and half are small businesses or entrepreneurs buying from sam club. you get a small business se sentiment as well. >> what is walmart's condition right now? tell us about small businesses across the united states and about the broader u.s. economy. >> people are uncertain. in the case of the broader u.s. economy, higher gas pricese,

delays on tax returns, means if you got less money in your pocket, you're spending it differently. your discretionary spending is pulling back. the extra things you're pulling back on and what it tells us about those businesses who shop at sam' club or walmart is that they are keeping less inventory on hand, buying smaller amounts of things because they are uncertain about what is going to happen. are the forced budgets cuts that we're going to be discussing next week, are they going to have an effect on what people are spending? it tells you a story of uncertainty. it's almost the new normal. small businesses are uncertain. individuals who earn a little less than average are uncertain and that's what walmart is telling us. >> excellent explanation. ali, thank you for joining us. >> always a pleasure. coming up, who needs a smartphone. google introduced smart glasses so you can search the internet without even looking down. stay with us. you're in "the situation room."

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one of the world's most recognizable streets is shut down after a deadly shooting this morning. kate bolduan is monitoring that. what happened? >> can you believe it, right on the vegas strip. three people were killed on a violent scene in vegas. someone stopped at a stoplight and shot into a maserati. you can see the taxi cab bursting into flames. police are searching for a black

range rover sport with large, black rims. a massive winter storm is dropping snow, sleet, and ice. new jersey has declared a state of emergency and cans satisfy authorities are telling people to just, quote, stay home. winter warnings watches and advisories. dumping rain across the south where tornadoes are possible. and making the decision to retire can can be tough for anyone. but the man believed to be the world's oldest marathoner says it is finally time. after all, he says he's 101 years old. he's run nine marathons and after one last race this weekend in hong kong, le stop racing competitively. he started running marathons when he was, if you can believe it, 89 years old and says he will run for fun but the age has caught up with him. >> i don't believe that either.

>> 89 and running a marathon? 100 years old, running a marathon? >> i tell what you i know. >> he's amazing. >> he's 101 now. >> god bless him. >> i know. i think it's time -- >> maybe half a marathon. >> he's going to dial it back. he's putting me to shame. yes. up next, when just looking at a medical bill can be enough to make you sick, you're going to see how one family is almost destroyed by the astronomical costs of getting well. >> i thought, what am i going to do? i've worked my whole life. this is how my life is going to end? male announcer ] your favorite foods fighting you? fight back fast with tums. calcium-rich tums starts working so fast you'll forget you had heartburn. ♪ tum tum tum tum tums it's lots of things. all waking up. connecting to the global phenomenon we call the internet of everything. ♪ it's going to be amazing.

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if you've ever had a bill from a hospital, you know what it's like. high prices, confusing codes. together with "time" magazine, we're going to shed some light on the secret world of health care costs. the special report, be "bitter

pill, why medical bills are killing us." it's based on a seven-month investigation into these costs and it shows how understanding them is key to fixing our health care system. drew griffin of cnn's special investigation unit is covering the story on this end. >> reporter: bob winecoff is finally healthy enough to walk the short steps to his mailbox but it's a step he dreds because he knows what is waiting. you might think you've heard this story before but not this one because the health care industry has managed to keep this largely a secret. this story is about what's actually in bob's bills and how he and maybe you are getting completely ripped off. >> this drawer here and this drawer here are nothing but medical bills. >> last month, a sudden hacking cough put him in a hospital in an intensive care unit.

he had problems breathing. >> i made reference that i wanted to breathe and that's where it all started. i don't remember. >> it was the bill that could eventually bankrupt bob and becky winecoff. >> yes, beautiful. >> at 60 years old, struggling to keep a small business going, bob had just switched to a discount insurance company. after just four days of treatment, the hospital was telling becky her husband's insurance would not even come close to covering the costs. >> she said, the bill is up to $80,000 already and said, mrs. weinkauf, i hope you're responsible for this bill. and i got in the car, and i was just hysterical. i thought, i have worked my whole life. this is how my life is going to end? >> $80,000 was only the very

beginning. >> all together, i totalled them up, about 400,000. >> well over. in fact, $474,016.60. this is the summary of those charges. broad categories with few details. becky started to ask questions and began to see just why health care in america is so expensive. everything bob touched, used, or was given came with a whopping charge. nurses pricked his finger to check his glucose levels 190 times, $39 a piece. the total bill, $7,410 just for that. asking for that ventilator because he was having trouble breathing? 32 separate billings. total cost, $65,600. if he had been five years older and qualified for medicare, all of these items would have been a

tiny fraction of what he was billed. as it turns out, even asking for a urine bottle cost him extra. >> aren't you surprised they even charged you for that? isn't there a charge for the room itself? >> oh, yeah. there's a flat rate charge. i don't know what's included. i guess it's the room and the bed. because everything they brought in, whether it be kleenexes, a urinal bottle, some kind of tubing that i needed for the iv or whatever, all of that was an extra charge. >> reporter: think that's outrageous? take a look at this little white cup. you probably last used one of these getting ketchup for french fries. well, if you've been hospitalized, you probably recognize it, too. it's that little white cup the nurse carries on a tray to bring your aspirin. well, i want you to remember this little white cup, because in a minute i'm going to tell you a little hospital billing secret about these little cups

that you will never forget. does anything surprise you anymore as to what particularly a hospital will bill? >> no, absolutely not. >> reporter: pat palmer has made a career battling hospitals over outrageous invoices. she's not battling for the weinkauf. she runs her business out of her basement in roanoke, virginia. each time the phone rings, it's most likely a hospital discharged patient suffering sticker shock. >> just flabbergasted of the costs that's involved in the treatment that they had. they never dreamed it would be that high. >> reporter: so where in the world do the hospitals come up with these prices? that, too, is sha rouded in mystery. it's off a master list called the charge master. a journalist steven brill says any hospital can charge any

amount or anything. >> it's a price list and nobody can explain how this price list happened and more importantly nobody wants to try to explain what the costs are behind it. it's totally irrational. >> reporter: a cost of tissue, a muk cows recovery system. >> certainly as a patient could you would think that's a nice gesture or gift. >> reporter: remember the little white cup? it's billed as oral administration fees. >> i've had a patient that had $5,000 worth of charges just for the little white cup to hand you your medication three or four times a day. >> reporter: how did they get away from it? mostly they don't. only the uneducated, unrepresented, or under or

uninsured get charged full price. big insurance companies negotiate discount rates. medicare goes even further determining preset prices, maximums a hospital can charge. but for people like bob and becky weinkauf, hospitals can charge whatever they want. >> can they ruin you? >> of course they could. >> if we sold our house and everything we owned, it would be a quarter of the bill. there's no way. it would kill us, literally. >> reporter: drew griffin, cnn. >> rick stengel, "time" magazine is joining us. >> we have a generic acetaminophen tablet and hospitals usually mark that up by 1,000 percent. the detail that got me is you know how if you're getting surgery in a place where the surgeon makes an x with a pen,

they charge 6 or $7 for the ink where they are going to operate. >> it's amazing that they can get away with these kinds of things. how is that possible? >> it's because the system isn't really being monitored ultimately. it's a seller's market on the part of the hospitals and health care providers but buyers don't have any opportunity to negotiate. we don't have any knowledge. even though we think it's an industry that is too regulated. >> what do you think washington needs to do to fix this s? >> one of the things that they do is medicare is a hero there because the federal government medicare has to monitor costs and can't pay more than a few percentage points more than what it actually costs the hospital but even in obama care and traditional federal legislation, medicare can't actually evaluate the costs of drugs, evaluate the

efficacy of drugs and that would bend the cost curve. so there are different things that washington can do and, again, it's a nonideological piece. both republicans and democrats are at fault in not monitoring this process and not allowing the pharmaceutical companies and the hospitals to really be too much on their own. >> correct me if i'm wrong, this is the first time "time" magazine has ever devoted this entire section to one writer, one story, 20,000 words to a single subject. is that right? >> yes, that is right. but i thought the story was so important and steve did such a fine job. this can change the situation. >> thank for doing it, rick stengel of "time" magazine. >> thank you, wolf. wait until you see what top

hospital administrations are paid millions and millions of dollars while health care is crippling companies. don't miss part two of the "time" magazine special. that will air tonight at 8:00 p p.m. eastern right here on cnn. russian's ban on adoptions by american families have left thousands of kids waiting for a family. staying active can actually ease arthritis symptoms. but if you have arthritis, staying active can be difficult. prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain so your body can stay in motion. because just one 200mg celebrex a day can provide 24 hour relief for many with arthritis pain and inflammation. plus, in clinical studies, celebrex is proven to improve daily physical function so moving is easier. celebrex can be taken with or without food. and it's not a narcotic.

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a 3-year-old boy adopted from russia is dead and texas authorities are calling his death suspicious. russian officials are not holding back judgment. but caught in the crossfire,

american parents desperate to adopt and russia's orphans, more than 100,000 of them, waiting to be part of a family. here is cnn's phil black. >> reporter: sonia is only 8 years old but she already knows a lot about love and rejection. she was given up at birth, adopted not long after but then returned to the orphanage when she was 5 because her adoptive parents realized she had learning difficulties. i'd like to go back to my family, she says. i love them and they just left me. this boy spent most of his day in a wheelchair. he has spina bifida. he's dreaming that his condition is cured so a family wants to adopt him. this 6-year-old doesn't know why he was given up at birth. he says, my family kicked me out. these parents all live in a

moscow organ naj. 3 to 18-year-olds, some live with disabilities, most don't. they are among russia's 130,000 orphans. despite the obvious need for more people who are willing to love these children, russia has banned americans from adopting here and some officials are now pushing for a total ban on all international adoptions. the orphanage director supports international adoption because she says there aren't yet enough russian families willing to do it. she says she hopes the government will encourage more russians to adopt. some officials fought for the ban on american adoptions because they claim russian children are often mistreated in the united states. it was also a response to an american law targeting russian human rights abusers.

critics of the ban, like the tens and thousands of russians who marched against it, say the country's orphans are suffering. the debate has split russian society. few here have ever spoken to its orphans. she has been cared for by the state since she was 7. she's now 16 and no longer hopes to be adopted but she says when she was younger she wanted it desperately. because, she says, it's always better for a child to be part of a family. phil black, cnn, moscow. >> hundreds of russian children had been matched with u.s. families when the ban went into effect. the state department here in washington is hoping to complete them all but russian courts have only approved about 50 that were in their final stages. coming up, the former first lady laura bush has a strong message for a group featuring her in their brand-new ad.

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republican critics are making a new stronger push to have president obama withdraw his nomination as chuck hagel to become the next defense secretary. democratic strategist donna brazil and aerie fleischer. 15 republican senators, among other things, wrote senator hagel's performance was deeply concerning, concerning leading to serious doubts to meet the substantial demands of the

office. donna, how toxic is this battle over chuck hagel? can he really be an effective defense secretary given how poise john this debate has been? >> i'm sure that once the vote is held on tuesday, mr. hagel will go on to do a great job at the defense department. he's a great public servant, a decorated vietnam veteran. there's no question that his performance during the nomination here will not garner him to have strong support from the democrats, all 55 of them, and he will receive the necessary votes to break the filibuster. senator shelby indicated yesterday he will support mr. hagel. and as you well know, i mr. mcc ayotte in new hampshire, but they're not on the letter. so perhaps we'll get even more support on tuesday.

>> do you have any reason to believe the president will withdraw this nomination, ari, or that hagel himself will ask that his name be withdrawn? >> no, i think that would be the best thing for our nation, if that were to happen. you know, donna's right. he won't get an oscar, but i wish he did. i wish that was an act. but i'm afraid it was the real chuck hagel. he didn't even know the president's iran policy. and iran is probably going to be the biggest issue that the secretary of defense has to deal with. wolf, i'm just worried from a substantiative point of view that at a time like this, america is going to have a very bumbly, stumbly secretary of defense. he says his job is not even to make policy. we could do so much better and this could have been a bipartisan process. the president probably picked the only person that could have created this result and barack obama wants him. and it's not unprecedented, by the way. you know, in 1989, of course, the democratic senate voted down, absolutely rejected former senator john howard to be george h.w. bush's secretary of defense. so all this talk that it's

without precedent doesn't make sense. >> we'll see what happens between now and tuesday and then on tuesday, considering that name is still up. let's move on to another issue. a group put out an ad promoting same-sex marriage. they used the clip of laura bush and dick cheney, if that matter, as well as colin powell, saying everyone should have the right to get married. today the group pulled the ad, changed it, because they said laura bush complained about her clip in there. the people who put out the ad said, we used public comments for this ad from american leaders who have expressed support for civil marriage. we appreciate mrs. bush's previous comments, but are sorry she didn't want to be included in the ad. ari, this is a very dicey issue for a lot of republicans and a bunch of democrats, i should say, as well. >> yeah, and i have not talked to mrs. bush about it, but knowing her, i don't think her view is any different. i think what she said she meant, it came from her heart. i do think this is in keeping

with the bush's desire to just really retire from active duty, combat, and politics. and so she didn't want to be in it. it's very gracious of the group to pull the ad. they could have continued to run it. it was gracious of them to do so so. but at the end of the day, wolf, i suppose all of this publicity helps their cause. >> do you think the president, donna, will ask the justice department to weigh in on the defense of marriage act, which bill clinton signed into law, saying that marriage should only be between a man and a woman? it's going to be coming up. oral arguments at the end of march, a final supreme court decision by the end of june. should the president actively tell the justice department, go ahead and say this defense of marriage act is unconstitutional? >> well, he's been a lead on this issue and i think it's important that the president continue his consistent support for marriage equality. and i'm glad that the group issued an apology to mrs. bush, and of course, in deference to her, because they have extremely -- of course, they respect her and they respect her views, but this is an issue, as

you well know, the american people are well ahead of the politicians. and they believe that it's time that we are not only go full speed ahead with marriage equality, but end discrimination against gays and lesbians in our society. so i would hope the president would push forward. >> and ask the justice department to formally express its own position against doma? >> absolutely. and i've fought against doma at the time and i will continue to raise my voice and urge the president to do the same with the justice department. >> donna, ari, guys, thanks very much. at the top of the hour, employees behaving badly with company phones. we have disturbing findings in an exclusive report. you don't expect employees of the fbi to need this kind of reminder. >> when you're given an fbi blackberry, it's for official use. it's not to text, you know, the woman in another office who you found attractive or to send a picture of yourself in a state

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then you're going to love this. right now they're only $14.95! wow-a grt deal just got a whole lot better. hurry. $14.95 won't last. here's a look at this hour's hot shots. in bangladesh, a woman decorates a memorial to pay homage to the martyrs of the 1952 protest between police and protesters.

in hungary, a week-old elephant and his mother make their first presentation to members of the media. the newborn will be revealed to the public on monday. in new zealand, rowers warm up for a rowing championship. and in south carolina, look at this, children play with light sticks to celebrate the first full moon day on the lunar year calendar. hot shots, pictures coming in from around the world. there's a lot of buzz surrounding google's latest creation, google glass. forget the smartphone, these are smart glasses, bringing all google has to offer to your face. no more looking down at your phone. cnn business correspondent, zane asscher, is joining us right now. zane, people are already trying to get their hands on these, aren't they? >> google is really keeping this device under tight wraps. you have to tweet to google in 50 words or less what you would do if you had google glasses,

but now there's still no word on when it will be available to the general public. >> what's coming? >> reporter: in the movie, "minority report," tom cruise uses cameras on his fingertips to help see crimes before they happen. google glass doesn't quite let you see the future, but it does allow you to record the present. >> okay, glass, take a picture. >> reporter: with simple vocal commands, the specks are being touted as allowing wearers to take photos, send text messages,ed and record video, all hands free. >> this is like taking an iphone smartphone and putting it on your body. >> reporter: the glasses don't have really lenses. they're a headband hooked up to wi-fi, allowing wearers to search the internet, see driving directions, and see language translations on the go. >> will people want to have this type of technology on their body at all times? if they do, it's a game changer. >> i always take pictures, so it's really convenient. it's right on my face.

that's awesome. >> i think it's too much technology. i mean, it doesn't really let you enjoy the moment. >> reporter: as google refines their product, it's making the glass available to select beta testers. the testers will be winners chosen from a competition based on creative tweets, but winners will have to spend $1,500 to buy the device. that's more than the average laptop. >> that's expensive. >> reporter: expenses aside, google, a company known for internet search domination, is moving even further into the product market. its an destroydroid operating sw dominates the smartphone market, it's introduced the driver's license car, and now it's pushing into artificial intelligence. google glass, coming soon to a face near you. another hurdle for google is to really make this device fashionable. they've reportedly teamed up with eyewear designers to help redesign them. so there really is a push to make these glasses hip to wear. wolf? >> zane asher, thanks very much.

now, shocking misbehavior by fbi employees. a deadly shooting and a fiery crash on the las vegas strip. a dramatic twist in the oscar pistorius case. the lead detective is charged with attempted murder. jimmy cart tells cnn his grandson clinched the election for president obama. plus, fish fry. there's a good chance you're not getting what you think. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." it's a laundry list of bad behavior, some of it even criminal, including mistresses, nude photographs, check fraud, and sexual favors. cnn has learned all of this and more is contained in

confidentable fbi internal reports of misbehavior by fbi employees. drew griffin of cnn's special investigations unit has a exclusive report for us. drew, there are some pretty incredible stuff in all of this. >> reporter: wolf, this is an example of, it can happen anywhere, even at the fbi, where they're continuously warned what not to do at work. the fbi's motto is fidelity, bravery, integrity. agents take down bank robbers -- >> shots are being fired! >> reporter: -- and the mob. the fbi's polished image kept in the spotlight by countless tv shows and movies. >> i'm with the fbi. >> reporter: but there's another side to the fbi, contained in these confidential internal records obtained by cnn that show serious misconduct by employees and even supervisors. assistant fbi director candice

will oversees the agency's office of professional responsibility. she sends out the reports four times a year to all 36,000 employees. >> we do our very best. we don't, obviously, if you know anything about our quarterlies, and they're not a public document, but we know that doesn't mean that cnn doesn't have a copy, there are no names. there are no locations. there are no job titles. we do our very best to sanitize the quarterlies so that the employees' identity is protected, while imparting as much knowledge as we can about what happen what happened, so that employees can learn about it. >> reporter: cnn obtained these summaries from the last year that include an employee who hid a recording device in a supervisor's office and did an unauthorized search of that office. another who was involved in a domestic dispute at a mistress' apartment, in which the police were called. another hid or destroyed electronic evidence. and one other employee repeatedly committed check fraud. and then there's the employee

who married a drug user/dealer and lied about it. all of them were fired. knowing what this agency does, knowing what this agency is about, how can anybody be so stupid? >> well, you know, it's funny you say that, because we do -- we look at our cases and we are struck sometimes. i've been doing this a really long time. i've been doing this nine years at the fbi, and as long as i've been doing it, and there are days when i think, okay, i've seen it all, but i really have. i still get files and i think, wow, i never would have thought of that. >> but i've got to tell you, i don't think i would ever bug my boss's office, especially if my boss was an fbi agent? >> i know, it's extraordinary. i agree. there are some that really do just take the cake. that was one where, you know, planting a recording device and rifling through a briefcase and then lying about, that's why this employee -- that's why that's a former employee. >> reporter: the intern report shows a 14-day suspension for the employee who paid for a

sexual favor at a massage parlor. using a personal cell phone to send nude photographs to other employees got a ten-day suspension. but there was only a five-day suspension for the employee who repeatedly used a government-issued blackberry to send sexually explicit messages to another employee at work. these actions follow misconduct we reported two years ago, that included sleeping with informants and viewing pornography on bureau computers. >> is that enough punishment for this kind of behavior? >> keep in mind, that if you lose a week's pay, that hurts. or two weeks' pay in some of those cases. and we have seen a rash of sexting cases and nude photograph cases, and people misusing their blackberry for these reasons. and we are hoping that getting the message out in the quarterlies is going to teach people, you can't do this stuff. you know, when you're given an fbi blackberry, it's for official use. it's not to text, you know, the

woman in another office who you found attractive or to send a picture of yourself in a state of undress. >> reporter: in the last three years, the fbi disciplined 1,045 employees, 85 were fired. and will says the internal warnings sent out by her office do deter bad behavior. >> they do learn, because i've had employees e-mail me, stop me in the hallway, call me and say, you know, i didn't know you couldn't do that. >> drew is joining us now. o what do the employees say about this bad behavior? >> reporter: you know, we reached out to the fbi agents' association, who told us really the same thing that candice will at the fbi told us. although this looks really bad, you need to keep in mind that the ratio of disciplinary issues among fbi agents, especially, are among the lowe esest in the federal government and the private sector. we're really talking about, wolf, a small fraction of people doing some incredibly stupid things. >> very stupid, indeed. drew griffin, thanks very much. drew griffin in our special

investigations unit, kate, doing an amazing, outstanding job. >> two great reports today. drew is working double duty today. you've got some new information on republican opposition to obama care, maybe slipping a little bit. >> maybe some new cracks in that opposition, wolf. six republican governors have already agreed to the provision expanding medicaid. and now, florida's rick scott, the governor there, who campaigned aggressively against the president's health care law, he is the seventh. cnn's national political correspondent, jim acosta is here with more details. so, jim, what's behind the suddenly reversal? >> well, it is another sign that the president's health care law may be here to stay, kate and wolf. republican governors who once vowed to strike it down are now starting to say, sign me up for a big part of the law. this is one flip-flop you won't find on a florida beach. the state's republican governor, rick scott, has gone from trying to erase the president's health care law to embracing one of its key provisions, its massive expansion of the medicaid

program for the poor. >> i want every florida family to have access to high-quality health care. so we have a choice, okay? and it's not an easy choice, okay? but my job is to worry about every florida family. >> reporter: even before president obama signed the bill into law, scott was tapping into anti-obama care outrage to advance his political career. >> you could end up with government bureaucrats taking away your choices. >> reporter: first as a health care executive, airing tv ads, warning of government rationing -- >> i've been pretty tough on the president, but he asked for it. >> reporter: -- then running for governor of the state that led the charge against the act at the supreme court. even after the law was upheld, scott promised he would stand against its medicaid expansion. >> don't put more people on a government program that will always run out of money and ration care. >> reporter: health care advocate joanalker says the reason for the reversal is simple, to provide coverage for 16 million uninsured americans, the government is offering the

medicaid money at no cost to the states. >> i think, you know, this is a time for common sense over politics. and there is federal money on the table here, and governors, i think, are beginning to realize they should accept it. >> scott joins a growing list of gop governors who are making the same move. from jan brewer, who once famously stuck her finger in the president's face. >> we can't simply wag our finger at the federal government. trust me, i tried that once. in short, the affordable care act isn't going anywhere. >> reporter: to ohio governor, john kasich. >> i can't look at the poor, i can't look at the mentally ill, i can't look at the addicted and think we ought to ignore them. >> reporter: but tea party leaders say they're not waving the white flag over health care just yet. >> i think in the long-term, we can overturn it. i do. >> reporter: you really -- >> time is on our side in this respect. it really kicks in in 2014. the full impact of it.

millions of americans going to lose their private insurance. >> reporter: but we should point out, there are plenty of other big-name republican governors, like rick perry of texas, who are blocking the health care law's expanded medicaid coverage. and even those governors who are taking the medicaid money say there are parts of obama care that still make them sick. and as for the case down in florida, the reversal down there, still depends on what the legislature does. they have to sign off on what rick scott wants to do with the medicaid. >> but there are cracks among those republican governors. >> you know, the president has talked about this, about whether or not the tea party fever is breaking among some conservatives out there, and perhaps this is a sign of that. that when these governors see this money on the table, and then they decide to go for it, because they really their going to cover a lot of people. >> especially rick scott. i remember interviewing him when he was just kicking off his campaign, and that was -- this was the center of his campaign for governor. >> this is the reason why rick scott is the governor of florida. and for this to occur, remember, he's running for re-election next year, john kasich in ohio

running for re-election next year. the tea party folks that we were talking to today say, maybe that has something to do with it and it might be smart politics in the long run, if you want to appeal to swing voters out there, accepting medicare money might not be a bad idea. >> might be the right thing to do for the people in their states as well. >> we'll see what happens in the legislature. jim acosta, thank you. another wild story today, a shooting, a fiery and deadly six-cash crash, and now an intense search for a luxury suv. all of this happening in the heart of one of america's top tourist destinations, the las vegas strip. that's where cnn's miguel marquez, he is there. miguel, what's the latest? >> the latest is the sheriff just held a press conference here to say that they now believe that all of this began in the valet section of the aria hotel on the vegas strip. it let out into the streets and became deadly. >> the fiery end to this

horrible accident. >> reporter: a shocking shoot-out right on the vegas strip, in a city not easily shocked. >> to be in vegas, like all the lights and, you know, the whole thing, but, like, i mean, i don't believe it, still, that this is actually happening here. >> reporter: police say it started at 4:30 a.m. someone in a black range rover with dealer plates fired into this maserati, killing the driver, causing it to go out of control. the maserati continued through an intersection, and then smashed into this car, hard to tell, but that is a taxi cab. it burst into flames. the driver and passenger trapped inside died. >> this is investigating the engineering and mechanicals of that vehicle, to determine why it exploded and why it started on fire immediately. >> reporter: still on the loose, the black range rover with dealer plates, a common vehicle here. police warning citizens the occupants are armed and dangerous. >> make no mistake, we're going

to pursue these individuals. this act is totally unacceptable. and we are going to make a very clear message to these individuals in regards to that. >> reporter: now, one thing to keep in mind, the car that exploded into flames, literally, the police describe it as exploding. they believe that it was not a propane tank, as they had earlier thought. it was just the force of that maserati, hitting that taxi cab that made it explode. they also say that there's now a multi-state manhunt for the occupants of that suv. of that black range rover. back to you guys. >> clearly they would love any help they can get from the public on trying to track that range rover suv sport down. miguel marquez, thanks so much, miguel. sentencing, a high-profile case in illinois. the former police sergeant drew peterson was ordered to serve 38

years in prison, yes, 38 years in prison, for the murder of his third wife. her death in 2004 was initially ruled an accidental bathtub drowning, but after peterson's fourth wife, stacy, disappeared in 2007, the case was reopened and peterson was charged with murder and conspiracy, convicted. stacy peterson still has not been found. and there are lots of frayed nerves on wall street after stocks suffered their biggest two-day drop so far this year. quite a roller-coaster. the dow, the nasdaq, and the s&p all lost ground again today and they're on track to post their worst week of 2013. the good news, they're still up, at least 3% for the year. he was a powerful republican senator, she was the daughter of one of the senate colleagues. now new revelations of a one-night stand and a secret son born decades ago.

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three decades ago has been revealed and it involves a powerful former republican senator, the daughter of another republican senator, and it turns out they had a son together. cnn's brian todd is piecing it all together for us. what are you finding out? >> wolf and kate, this is something you might see in a hollywood version of a washington political drama. two families, iconic in the senate, royalty in the republican party, and infidelity along ago between those two families produces a child out of wedlock. it is a deep secret for decades, and because someone was apparently about to go public with all of it, now it blows up. he was an immensely powerful and influential senator, a republican icon, who voted to impeach president clinton over the lewinsky scandal. >> mr. dmenchi, guilty. >>. >> reporter: at the time, he called president clinton's behavior tawdry. >> i think there's an element of hypocrisy, no question. >> reporter: matt cooper of the

national journal says that now, because we're now finding out that while domenci was blasting bill clinton, he was hiding from his family that he had fathered a child out of wedlock several years earlier and it had been with the daughter of another legend, paul laxsalt. they just issued statements, acknowledging they're the parents of adam laxsalt, an attorney. he says, my past action has caused hurt can disappointment to my wife, children, family and others, i deeply regret this and am very sorry for my behavior? >> what do you make of the revelation and the timing of it so many years later? >> it seems like someone forced their hand, someone was going to write about it and so they decided it made sense to be forthright about it. >> michelle laxalt says in her

statement, recently information has come to me that this sacred situation might be twisted, rewritten out of whole cloth, and shopped to press outlets large and small in a vicious attempt to smear, hurt and diminish beneath domenic. "the journal's" joe robertson wrote an article on it, but robertson dlied an interview with cnn and refused to explain any further. six years ago, when their connection was still largely secret, michelle laxalt appeared on cnn's larry king live, defending pete domenici. he'd been involved in a scandal over the firing of u.s. attorneys. >> senator pete domenici is an entirely honorable man. when you're attacking someone who has been in public service for his entire life, at great sacrifice, supporting no fewer than eight children, and with the many sacrifices and the many contributions senator domenici has made not only to the

country, but to the state of new mexico. >> michelle laxalt now calls her liaison with domenici, quote, one night's mistake. domenici retired from the senate in 2009. pete domenici declined an interview with cnn. we could not reach michelle laxalt. but their son, adam laxalt e-mailed us earlier today, saying, quote, i have lived my entire life as a private citizen and intend to remain one. i plan to address personal issues privately and will not be commenting or joining any public discussion. kate, wolf? >> i feel really bad for adam laxalt in this entire thing. i mean, did you find out -- did he know that senator domenici was his father or was this even a surprise to him? >> it could be a surprise to him. it's very unclear. i e-mailed him back when he e-mailed me today, asking, did you know? he never replied to that. domenici and michelle laxalt have said in their statements that they did not want this revealed at all at any point and had to do it now. michelle laxalt has said in the statement that she raised him as a single parent and would only

ask pete domenici to avail himself for, quote, health-related purposes. so it's not clear if she ever let adam laxalt know if he was the father. it's a bit of a tradition. >> unfortunately, i guess. brian todd, thanks, brian. so michelle obama is bringing a big name to her let's move campaign, big bird joined the first lady in the white house kitchen and in the east room. >> no matter what your age, it's important to get your body moving every single day to help keep you healthy. >> look, mrs. obama, i'm getting moving right now by jogging. >> there's so many different activities you can do, indoors or outside. >> now i'm jumping to get moving. >> just find an activity that you like. >> and now, i'm dancing. >> good for you, big bird! get moving. it's good for you.

>> i really wish wolf could do that -- i wish we could just reenact that entire thing right there. it wasn't that long ago, you'll remember, that big bird was in the political limelight for a very different reason. here's a reminder. >> i like pbs, i love big bird. i actually like you too. but i'm not going to keep on spending money on things to borrow money from china to pay for it. >> big bird ended up in an obama campaign ad, which sesame workshop asked to be taken down, and it looks like big bird has clearly moved on. >> certainly has. all right. he's charged with attempted murder. he's also a police detective and until today he was leading the oscar pistorius murder case. coming up, details on a shocking new twist. plus, why jimmy carter says his grandson clinched president obama's re-election. the former president is talking to cnn and his grandson will join us live, right here in "the situation room." that's coming up. [ male announcer ] when we built the cadillac ats from the ground up

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citibank popmoney. easier banking. standard at citibank. a dramatic twist in the legal drama surrounding the murder case involving the olympic star, oscar pistorius. it turns out the lead investigator is now facing attempted murder charges himself, and he's been pulled the off the case. >> we also have something you won't so anywhere else. a virtual tour of where prosecutors say pistorius murdered his girlfriend on valentine's day. first, let's get to robyn curnow. >> reporter: wolf and kate, as oscar pistorius spends another night in prison, some extraordinary developments in this case that is already playing out like some sort of television drama. of course, oscar pistorius,

trying to get bail, trying to avoid spending the next six to eight months behind bars. but take a listen to what happened today. photos and videos are all that friends and family have to remember reeva steenkamp. more than a week after she was shot to death by her boyfriend, her dreams shattered. >> she always wanted to have kids. >> reporter: gena myers was her best friend. >> she actually, she, the irony of it, she actually sent me a message in the beginning of the month, and she said, g., this month is going to be amazing and it's going to change our lives forever. >> reporter: the hot and stuffy courtroom exploded with flashbulbs again as oscar pistorius came in. previous days, he was visibly emotional, frequently crying, today, frozen, immobile as his lawyers challenged investigators in his effort to be freed on bail. saying if pistorius really wanted to kill his girlfriend,

he could have done it in the bedroom. that her empty bladder proved she went to the bathroom in the middle of the night, that steenkamp probably locked the door franticly as she heard pistorius shouting about a burglar. and that her lawyers insist that pistorius carried her downstairs to take her to the hospital, desperate to save her life. the key issues came toward the end of the day. they ripped apart oscar pistorius' affidavit. in particular, they pointed out some forensic inconsistencies. for example, why were the cartridges inside the bathroom when oscar pistorius alleges that he shot from outside the bathroom? also, crucially and quite damningly, the state's prosecutor says pistorius lacks an insight and realization of what he's done. and in another twist in an already dramatic case, the lead investigator, who in past days has struggled to offer clear evidence pistorius killed steenkamp, was removed from the case because he himself is facing charges of attempted m e

murder in an unrelated case. so the prosecution now has put their head of detectives in charge and the bail hearing continues on friday. so many twists and turns in this case, it's very hard to sort of judge how the magistrate will rule in this. legal experts i've spoken to say they kind of believe that oscar pistorius will get bail, but if he doesn't, just remember that his legal team can appeal and this can then follow through and continue in the high court. back to you, wolf and kate. >> all right, we're going to have a lot more on this store coming up later. tom foreman's got a virtual tour of the actual place where they lived. >> we'll take a look at that coming up. but also ahead, a check of today's top stories, including a building demolition like you've never seen it before. are the days of wrecking balls and huge implosions a thing of the past? let's go. ♪ ♪

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kate's here and she has that and some of the other day's top stories. >> a really horrible attack, wolf. at least three car bombs went off in and around damascus today. the biggest blast was in the heart of the city, near schools, the russian embassy, and the headquarters of syria's ruling party. at least 53 people were killed and 230 others were wounded. an amazing story, a brave 4-year-old is being credited with saving her younger sister's life after a car crash that killed their mother. washington state police said that little arianna pulled her 2-year-old sister, lila, from the car and covered them both with a blanket. the girls were finally found by a passerby hours later. arianna was treated and released from the hospital, but her little sister is still recovering. and take a look at this, the incredible shrinking building, you could call it. this time lapsed building shows a new demolition technique being used in japan. the upper floors rest on huge

jacks as workman destroy the beams and columns on a lower floor and then the jacks lower, allowing demolition to begin on the next floor and so on and so forth. it's quieter, and cleaner, and in a city as dense as tokyo, safer than using explosives. here's another good one. wine lovers will either be intrigued or aghast at this. a california winery is experimenting with aging its bottles underwater. 48 bottles sealed with corks and a special wax are in specially designed crates that will spend the next three months on the bottom of charleston, south carolina's harbor. in may, they'll be hauled up, tested scientifically, and most importantly, tasted, which is also my favorite part about it. >> the pinot grigio is being done like this as well? chardonnay? all of that? >> i don't think our viewers understand that pinot grigio is your wine. it is your wine. they may be testing a pinot grigio. we will see in three months. >> let me know, please. >> okay. coming up, jimmy carter's grandson will join us live. the former president says james

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so does president obama have former president jimmy carter to thank for his re-election? the former president explains how his grandson, james carter iv, may have clinched the race for the president. listen to what he told cnn's piers morgan about that and his own relationship with president obama. >> last time we spoke, you sort of suggested you didn't have much of a relationship with president obama. have things improved or deteriorated or are they about the same? >> about the same. you know, he and i respect each

other when he came to atlanta this past week. his staff invited me to come to the speech, i was in atlanta to make a speech myself, i couldn't go. but he met my grandson, who was in the state senate. he met my grandson, who was the won who found the 47% tape and -- >> won him the election. >> i personally think so. james, my grandson, who did that, was born a month after i moved to the white house. >> so basically, carter won obama the election? >> well, i think so. that's kind of a prejudiced -- >> but it was a key moment, actually. do you think that was the pivotal moment in destroying mitt romney's chances? >> i think it was. it was something he could not deny and it stuck with him for the rest of the election and i think it was a major factor if not the major factor. and when james went to meet president obama, president obama ran across the room, embraced him, and thanked him, for the first time, by the way -- >> last week, for the first

time -- did he actually say, thank you for winning the election? >> i don't think he said for winning the election, but thank you for helping me win the election. i don't know exactly what the words were. >> piers' full interview airs later tonight at 9:00 eastern. but james carter, the grandson of the former president is joining us now live from atlanta. james, thanks very much for coming in. >> thanks for having me. >> tell us about your meeting, first of all, with president obama last week in atlanta. >> well, it was before the event, and i was in line to, you know, to have to shake hands and have your picture made with the president. there were several of us in line, and my cousin, jason carter, who's a state senator here in georgia, was in line ahead of me. and he, after he got his picture taken, told obama that i was the one that had found the 47% tape and so then obama said, hey,

great, get over here. and then you know, kind of half embraced me, i want to say, put his arm around me and we shook hands and he thanked me for my support several times. >> what else did he say, the president? >> well, he thanked me for my support, and then i had my picture made, and then my wife, who was also in line, he called her in, and we had another picture made. and afterwards, he talked to both of us and thanked us for our support and said, you know, now that i have a second term, we can make sure these kids get what they need. and the event was an event about pre-k, and so, you know, he was definitely on message if the policy piece. and that's the reason that i do what i do. so i was -- >> you were happy about that.

walk us through how you came up with that tape. it was at a fund-raiser in boca raton, florida, at a hotel. how did you come up with that tape, where romney spoke of that 47%? >> well, i had been doing regular searches, i'm a researcher. and so i'd been researching videos and making sure that i knew all of the videos that were being posted online about romney and some other republicans. and i found a video that had just a piece of what ended up the 68-minute video. and i tracked the person who had made it, who goes by anonymous, and i introduced anonymous to david corn, and, you know, that's how it got out. >> david corn from "mother jones" magazine. and they released it. can you tell us, was it a guest,

was it a waiter, was it a bus y busboy, was it somebody who was at -- it was a closed-door meeting, obviously, the dinner. >> well, i can say that it wasn't one of the people who had paid $50,000 to be there. but i'm not going to say anything more than that. >> and did you realize when you got that tape to david corn of "mother jones" magazine that it would have such a potentially pivotal impact in the election? >> no, i didn't, actually. i hadn't seen -- i didn't see the whole thing until after it -- until after it was actually posted online by mother jones. but everything that i was doing at that point was trying to make some sort of a difference in the campaign, and so i obviously hoped that everything that i found would make a difference. it ended up being way beyond my wildest dreams. >> how does it make you feel that your grandfather is so

proud of what you did? what has he said to you? >> well, he's -- on the day that it came out, he said that it was extraordinary and that was in a very short e-mail. but i think it got the point across. he's always been proud of all of the grandkids, but it is nice to have him be publicly proud of me, in front of all the people who watch him on these various shows. that's fun. >> he certainly was proud of you in the interview with piers morgan. that will air later tonight on "piers morgan tonight," 9:00 p.m. eastern. jaums carter, thanks very much for coming in. >> thanks for having me. coming up, something you won't see anywhere else. our own tom foreman, he's getting ready to take all of us on a virtual tour of the home where oscar pistorius' girlfriend was killed and the different accounts of what happened. this is something you're going to want to see. and a fraud that's becoming more widespread in this country

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back to the case of olympic star oscar pistorius, charged with murdering his girlfriend. let's take a closer look at where and how it happened. cnn's tom foreman is here. this home, tom, is where this entire case, what it centers on. >> that's right, kate. and to understand what happened, you have to consider the layout of this home and the two competing narratives that we're hearing. let's start in the bedroom, because that's where oscar pistorius' story begins and what he has to say about it. he says in the early morning hours of valentine's day, he and his girlfriend were in bed and he got up in the darkness to go to the balcony to retrieve a fan

and to close a window. unbeknownst to him, he says, she got up too and went to the bathroom. then he started to go back inside. that's where this whole story gets very, very strange. and i want to fly you through the house, to follow his story. he says, as he comes in off the balcony, the room is very, very dark and he thinks that she's still lying in bed over there. remember, he doesn't have his prosthetic legs on, he's moving around on what's left of his natural legs, so his angle would also be lower. but he does hear a noise down that hallway. there have been break-ins before, there have been problems in the neighborhood, he's had death threats. he gets his pistol from under the bed, he says, and he goes down that hall. as he rounds the corner, he sees an open window and he hears noise inside that locked room in front of you where the toilet is. he thinks there's an intruder there, according to his story. he begins yelling out for the intruder to leave, he starts yelling out for his girlfriend, reeva, behind him, to protect herself, and then he suggests he

essentially panics. he's so afraid, he begins shooting through the door. only when he comes back into the room to put on his prosthetic legs does it occur to him that something else happened, because she's not there. and he goes back to the bathroom and smashes the door down and indeed she is there and he begins calling for help. that's his version of what happened in this house. >> that's the defense's story, but what do prosecutors say actually happened in their view? >> very different view. very different. they say it was never dark and confusing, the lights were on the whole time, and the reason the lights were on, is because this couple was having a big argument. so loud, it could be heard for hundreds of yards from some witnesses who believe it was coming from that house. of some point, he did, indeed, retreat to the bathroom to get away from him, and he lacked the door behind herself. that's when prosecutors say he took his pistol, he went down that hall, in the full light and with the full intent of pursuing

her, and when he got to the lock door, he shot her through the door. the details, all fit for both stories in a strange way. that's what makes it so fascinating and how those details are parsed out in court will determine whether or not he spends a lot of time in jail or not. >> so fascinating. and we're only at the bail hearing phase of this case. that's the amazing part about it. tom foreman, great work. thanks, tom. cnn's erin burnett is going "outfront" on this at the top of the hour. erin, what do you have? >> all right, well, wolf, as you know, the chief investigator on this story was removed today. it turned out that he himself is under investigation for murdering seven people, an allegation, of course, he denies, but that has caused him to be removed. he's also the person who walked into that room and had contaminated feet, who said there was testosterone, and then had to admit, oh, maybe it wasn't testosterone. who also missed a bullet that was in the toilet. someone says that is going to cause a big black eye to the police in south africa. we talked to the national police commissioner and put those questions to her. wolf, she says they have made no

mistakes, they did a great job, and we are rushing to judgment. back to you. >> we'll see you at the top of the hour. erin, thanks very much. so chances are the fish you buy in the market or order at a restaurant may not be the fish you think. cnn's mary snow has been digging into this. >> reporter: the label says red snapper, but a new study finds more often than not, the label may be wrong. the nonprofit group oceana finds one thrd of seafood is not what it's ill billed to be. it's no surprise to frank andia, who's worked in his family's fish business for nearly 30 years. he welcomes the study. >> i'm happy that people look into it, because i'm totally legit, and it costs me money to be that way. >> reporter: because? >> because you want to do the right thing and people say our prices are high. they're not. they're not. they are what they should be. you know, oh, this guy's got it for $10 a pound less. well, there's a reason why. >> and that reason is? >> it's not real.

>> reporter: his gray sole, for example, sells for $35 a pound. he says it's an expensive business and blames lower end stores and restaurants for cutting corners and selling fakes, maybe swapping red snapper for tilapia, which is cheaper. oceana did its testing with dna samples and found of the samples it took, snapper was mislabeled 87% of the time, tuna 59%. what is the source of the problem? oceana says it's unclear, because the system is so complex from the time the fish is caught until it's on your plate. but it says, although more than 90% of the seafood americans eat is imported, less than 1% is inspected by the government, specifically for fraud. the food and drug administration, which oversees food safety, told us in a statement, it screens all seafood imports electronically, and some is physically checked, depending on potential risks. it adds that mislabeling has

been a concern for some time, because it is also a public health risk, saying, the fda has recently invested in significant technical improvements to enhance its ability to identify its seafood species, using state of the art dna sequencing. >> so that's a fluke. >> reporter: but chef john mooney says more needs to be done. he's among 500 chefs calling on the government for transparency in the seafood industry. >> who controls this? i mean, what is the process in making sure it is what it is? >> and democratic congressman ed markey of massachusetts has been trying to pass legislation to improve transparency in the seafood supply chain, saying american fishermen have been undercut by foreign countries and companies. he says he plans on introducing a new bill to congress in the coming weeks. wolf? >> mary, thank you. up next, the incredible sound of nature's real-life squeaky toy. ] [ male announcer ] your favorite foods fighting you?

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